Tara Tarini Hill Shrine to be developed as a national level destination

•High-level meeting reviews the development of Tara Tarini Hill Shrine

•Comprehensive development of the Hill Shrine stressed

•Land belonging to the Shrine to be recovered

•Work of the Main Temple Complex to be completed by January 2011

•To check erosion and land-slide, retaining walls to come up with state support

After the formation of the Tara Tarini Development Board the famous Taratarini Hill Shrine got the much needed attention and owing to that in the last 7 years the number of pilgrims visiting to the shrine has gone up significantly. Last year more than 17 lakh people visited the hill shrine during the month of Chaitra. This year the number swelled further. During five Tuesdays of the month around 20 lakh devotees and tourists visited the shrine. However, the figures available from the local media reveals that this year’s gathering has surpassed the records of earlier years and even surpassed the 20 lakh figure anticipated by the Board. Taking this growing number into consideration the Tara Tarini Development Board is expecting the number of visitors to swell further in the coming years.

However, despite the development initiatives undertaken with active participation of the people in the last 7 years, the existing infrastructure is proving inadequate and the significant growth of tourists and visitors has come as a big challenge for the Board. On the other hand, unlike Puri Jagannath Shrine the Tara Tarini hill shrine has inadequate infrastructure to support 20 Lakh visitors within a month.

A high-level meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Hon’ble minister of Law GoO Shri Vikram Arukh in Bhubaneswar on April 28, 2010 to review the on going developmental works being undertaken by the Tara Tarini Development Board at Taratarini hill shrine. Issues like creating national standard infrastructure for the benefit of visitors and ways to counter the challenge posed by the consistently growing number of visitors in the coming years were discussed in the meeting.

Minister of Tourism Government of Orissa Shri Devi Prasad Mishra, Principal Secretary Urban Development, Government of Orissa Shri Arun Panda, Transport & Commerce Secretary Government of Orissa Shri Satyabrata Sahu, Secretary Law Government of Orissa and Commissioner Endowment Government of Orissa, Ganjam District Collector and Vice-President of TTDB Shri VK Pandian, all senior officials of the Department of Tourism and many other senior government officials of the state and district administration, apart from Secretary TTDB Shri Pramod Panda, Senior audit officer Shri Arun Kumar Sabat, the office bearers of TTDB, Technical Committee members of TTDB and Temple Management were present on the occasion.

Reviewing the works of TTDB, Shri Arukh said the famous Taratarini Hill Shrine the Breast Shrine of Mata Sati, is one amongst the 4 major ancient Shakti centers in India and an important prehistoric religious center. It is gradually emerging as the popular destination of visitors in Orissa. He said seeing the number of visitors in one month any body can say that it’s also emerging as a major religious-tourism destination of Orissa after Puri Jagannath.

He appreciated the work of TTDB and advised to focus on the time bound completion of the ongoing projects of the shrine and to take up developmental projects for the benefit of the growing number of visitors. Shri Arukh also gave importance to the immediate construction of outer protection walls and River-side retaining wall to check land sliding and soil erosion at the hilltop and said the Rural Development department Government of Orissa will undertake the work of both the Northern and Southern side outer protection walls to ensure the safety of the hill top. He assured all help from government side to the Development Board.

Minister of Tourism Government of Orissa Shri Devi Prasad Mishra said Taratarini is an important and ancient Shakti centre of Orissa. Goddesses Tara-Tarini not only have been regarded as the presiding deity (Ista-Devi) in almost every household in South Orissa but also is one among the principal centers of worship in the state. Taratarani attracts thousands of devotees, picnickers and visitors throughout the year. He said so far as tourism is concerned this place has enough potentials and as expected its also emerging as a major tourist destination in eastern India. He assured all support to TTDB and regular attention from his ministry to strengthen the infrastructure of the holy shrine and sanctioned Rs. 70 lakh in the first phase for the overall development of the shrine.

On this occasion the Principal Secretary Urban Development, Government of Orissa Shri Arun Panda presented the keynote address. He gave a proposal to reserve the land in front of the hill shrine for future development of the shrine and it was immediately accepted by the high level committee. Shri Panda also suggested the Board to take the help of reputed NGOs for maintenance of sanitation in and around the shrine and construction of more numbers of Lavatory complexes for tourists.

Transport & Commerce Secretary Government of Orissa Shri Satyabrata Sahu presented the plan for the overall development of the ancient shrine and put emphasis on the early completion of the main temple, side temples, boundary wall, Bhog Mandap and other necessary constructions of the main temple complex on the hill top with in a time bound period. He gave a number of proposals for the development of the shrine area through PPP mode. Ganjam District collector and Vice-President of TTDB Shri VK Pandian delivered the welcome address.

Lastly, in the meeting it was unanimously decided that some of the prioritized list of works proposed by the TTDB and sanctioned by the technical committee of TTDB will be commenced soon for the convenience of devotees and tourists. That are:

1. The work of the hill top temple complex with four side temples and boundary wall will be completed by January 2011.

2. Dedicated bus service to the hill shrine for smooth transportation and the construction of a bus Stand on the foot hill will be started soon.

3. Permanent accommodation facility for the visitors on the foot hill to be arranged.

4. Completion of administrative office and ultra modern lavatory complex on the hilltop of the shrine within December 2010.

5. Further widening of the existing Ghat road from Keshpur to the Hilltop at a cost of around 5 crore to be completed by the end of this year.

6. Construction of North and South side outer protection walls and River side retaining walls to check land sliding and soil erosion at the hilltop at a cost of 1 crore will be started soon by the Rural development dept. GoO.

7. The tourism department in the first phase will sanction 71 lakhs for the overall development of the shrine area. A high-level team will visit the shrine area soon for this purpose.

8. It was also decided that Ministry of Law govt. of Orissa will take immediate steps to recover all the donated cultivated and uncultivated land (Around 300 acres in Gajnam district and around the same size in other parts of the state) scattered in various parts of the state on the line of Jagannath Temple, Puri.

Ganjam Bar Association to intensify stir for HC Bench in Berhampur

It will boycott courts in the city

The Ganjam Bar Association on April 24 formed an action council to strengthen its demand for establishment of a permanent Bench of the High Court for south Orissa in Berhampur city.

This action council was constituted through an emergency meeting called up by the Ganjam Bar Association. The secretary of the bar association, Rabindra Kumar Deo said this newly formed action council would decide upon the future course of action for the fulfilment of the long standing demand for the High Court Bench.

Three elected members of the present bar association including its President, Bhagaban Sahu, its secretary Mr. Deo and its second secretary T.K.Patra are to head this action council. It also includes two elected representatives to the State association from the local bar. Nine former presidents of the bar association and nine former secretaries are also part of it. All the members of the action council were present in Saturday's meeting. ....... Read full story........... http://www.hindu.com/2010/04/25/stories/2010042552160300.htm,

Courtesy: The Hindu

Collectors concerned over water tax collection in South Odisha

Berhampur: Almost all the district collectors under the southern revenue division have expressed their concern and  reservations over the collection of water tax keeping in view the insufficient irrigation facilities in the region.

A review meeting attended by southern district collectors and presided over by RDC Chandrasekhar Kumar was held on April 20 in Berhampur. During the review, it was, however, noticed that land revenue collection was achieved as per the desired target.

However, the district collectors were of the view that collection of water tax is a burden on the farmers as irrigation facilities are not available in the region in comparison to other parts of the state.

There is, however, a direction from the government to collect water tax even for the lands where no irrigation facilities are available.

The district collectors pleaded for relaxation of the direction while collecting tax in these areas.

Source: The Pragativadi

Berhampur city reels under water crisis

Rising temperature and drinking water crisis have left several towns in the State virtually dry and the Silk City is no exception to this seasonal trauma. It is a perennial drinking water problem here which only aggravates in summer and long queues of women waiting for tankers become common in several areas of the city.

Though a two-decade-old problem, no serious measures have been taken to counter the crisis for which the city has started feeling the pinch from mid-March. Unlike the previous years when the water crisis was felt in mid- April this year it was a month early posing more problems for the residents.

The shortage is felt even as the city gets its water supply from two major sources -- the Dakhinapur drinking water project and Rushikulya project at Badamadhapur besides bore wells, tube wells and open wells.According to sources, Berhampur needs over 54 million gallons of water per day. Even the two fully active water projects are unable to meet the demand. Both the projects provide less than 35 million gallons of water per day, said the Public Health Executive Engineer............Read full story............Link........ http://expressbuzz.com/states/orissa/berhampur-reels-under-water-crisis/167654.html,

Source: New Indian Express

‘Ghosts’ grab BPL rice in Gajapati district

Virtually a blind rule is on in the Gajapati district. Though it sounds unbelievable it is true that ghosts even avail BPL rice here. Many of the schemes run for the development of the poor are carried out on pen and paper and the money is rampantly siphoned off.

Such a glaring incident has come to light in Gosani block of the district. Though the real poor people are not getting rice, it is being distributed in the name of the people who are dead. In the Macchamara panchayat’s Rajpur village out of the 304 families, 228 have been included in the BPL, 35 in Antodaya and three families have been included in the Annapurna schemes. Rice is being supplied by the Government and is being distributed. But it is only on the pen and paper.

Rice is being lifted in the names of the families who have already left the village long back and also those who have died long back. But the people who are having cards and living in the village are deprived of getting rice. Janaki Panda and Brundaban Nayak who were included in the BPL list have died long time back. Similarly, Chaitanya Pradhan has left the village with his family and staying elsewhere. K Sanyasi, who is included in the Antodaya scheme had died five years back.

Source: The Pioneer

River valley development authority sought for southern Odisha

A river valley development authority was demanded at the conclave of technical experts and intellectuals held in Berhampur under the auspices of the Dakshin Odisha Vikash Parishad (DOVS) that has initiated a novel proposal for resolution of water issues in the southern part of the State. The conclave was inaugurated by Nakshyatramala Panigrahi and was attended by several experts, including engineers, legal experts and intellectuals from across the region.

The Dakshin Odisha Vikash Parishad programme coordinator Sankarsan Panigrahi placed a paper on water resources development plan in the southern part of the State stressing the need of its immediate implementation. Dakshin Odisha Vikash Parishad leader Dayanidhi Sahu delivered a keynote address on river valley development in southern Odisha and the serious emergency of water issues confronted by the people living in ten districts of the region. DOVP leader Dayanidhi Sahu also advocated for establishment of a special development board under Article 371 of the Indian Constitution as well as for a river basin development authority on the lines of the Tennesse River Development Authority of the United states of America (USA). Sahu, while pleading for establishment of such a board, also referred to the quotations of some eminent people like AN Khosla, a former Governor of Odisha, Viswasraya, KL Rao and Thirumal Ayanger.

The conclave demanded immediate construction of dams under Ghatakeswar and Cheligarh projects to address the drinking water problems of Berhampur city and the adjoining areas. It was also demanded that all the river valley projects, including dams on the rivers of Rushikulya, Badanadi and Loharkhandi in the southern region as well as the Manibhadra project on river Mahanadi be implemented on war footing.

Besides, KC Jena also stressed the need of hydropower generation from the water resources available in the southern part.

Moreover, a river network for inter-basin transfer of water on the demand-supply basis was also sought at the conclave which was presided over by Dakshin Odisha Vikash Parishad leader Dayanidhi Sahu.

Source:The Pioneer

Devotees make beeline on the concluding day of Chaitra festival in Taratarini hill shrine

With a mammoth gathering and marked by devotional celebration on the fifth and last Tuesday of the auspicious month of Chaitra, the month long famous and biggest annual Chaitra festival at the ancient Taratarini Hill shrine came to an end. The ritualistic worship of the devotees and invocation of divine benediction charged the atmosphere with an exhilarating blend of spirituality and an all pervading solidarity.

It is notable, that all the Tuesdays of the month of Chaitra are days of celebration at this hill shrine and devotees gather in lakhs from the cross section of the country to take a glimpse of Adi Shakti Maa Taratarini (Sthana Peetha of Mata Sati and one amongst the 4 major ancient Shakti centers in India) to eradicate evil from the world and to fulfill all their worldly desires.

Like the other Tuesdays of the month there was also heavy rush on the last and fifth Tuesday on the hill top temple as it also happened to be Chaitra Purnami and the last day of the holy month of Chaitra. Darshan for the devotees started in the specially decorated sanctum sanctorum of the hill top temple after the midnight of Monday at around 3.00 a.m and continued up to late evening.

It is important to note that after the formation of the Tara Tarini Development Board this famous Breast Shrine got the much needed attention and owing to that in the last 7 years the number of pilgrims visiting to the shrine has gone up significantly. Last year more than 17 lakh people visited the hill shrine during the entire month of Chaitra. This year the number swelled further. During five Tuesdays of the month around 20 lakh devotees and tourists visited the Sthana Peetha. However, the figures available from various unofficial sources, particularly from the local media reveal that this year’s gathering has surpassed the records of earlier years and even surpassed the 20 lakh figure mark anticipated by the board.

It a known fact that despite the development initiatives undertaken with active participation of the people in the last 7 years, the existing infrastructure is proving inadequate and the significant growth of tourists and visitors has come as a big challenge for the Taratarini Development Board (TTDB). Being aware of this challenge the present Tara Tarini Development Board Chairman and RDC Southern Division Shri Chandrasekhar Kumar, Ganjam District Collector and deputy chairman of the Board Shri VK Pandian and other board members have decided to focus on the time bound completion of the ongoing projects of the shrine and to take up more number of developmental projects for the benefit of the growing number of visitors. To keep pace with this, the Board has approved a number of new projects recently. Some of the prioritized list of works proposed by the TTDB to be taken up for the convenience of devotees and tourists are…………

• For the benefit of devotees steps would be taken next year to arrange around 5000 tents with all other basic facilities for the temporary accommodation of at least 50,000 people.

• Dedicated bus service to the hill shrine for smooth transportation.

• Permanent accommodation facility for the visitors on the foot hill.

• The work of the hill top temple complex with four Parshwa temples and boundary wall to be completed in a time bound period.

• Completion of administrative office and ultra modern lavatory complex within a month on the hilltop.

• Construction of Mundan shade on the hilltop.

• Further development of Arial Rope-way.

• Construction of outer protection walls and River side retaining wall to check land sliding and soil erosion at the hilltop.

• Construction of huge parking space at the hilltop.

• Lighting arrangements at the hilltop and the ways leading to the hill top temple.

• Widening of stone steps and arrangement of public utilities/ rest houses.

• Further widening of the existing road to the Hilltop.

• Maintenance of eco-system in and around the sacred hill by huge plantation in its nearby areas etc.

This year the biggest fair of Orissa at this shrine has passed off peacefully without any untoward incidents. TTDB thanks the local administration, volunteers, social organizations and local people for their excellent support during the month. The media (both electronic and print) which ensured that the happenings of the festivals reach those people who could not physically attend the festivities at the hill shrine of Maa Tara Tarini and their devoted work is praise worthy. TTDB appreciates their tireless efforts. By R P Tripathy